Storage Solutions for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum

ZX
Spectrum

The DivIDE Plus Hard
Disk
Interface provides a standard ATA (IDE) interface to
allow any Sinclair
ZX Spectrum (including the +2A, +2B, +3 and clones,
including the Timex
TC2048) to connect to an industry standard hard disk
drive, CD ROM
drive or Compact Flash (CF) memory card (up to
2GB). It builds on
the original DivIDE design by Pavel Cymbal and
incorporates several new
features thanks to the work of Jarek Adamski and Jurek
Dudek in Poland.

The Quick Start Guide and manual
is is supplied to our customers on purchase of the
DivIDE Plus
and is subject to copyright - it is not freely available
for distribution.

Ability to use both a CF
Memory Card and an
IDE hard disk to be used at the same time (there is
both an IDE
connector and a CF Memory Card Slot built in).
You can set a
jumper to specify whether the CF Memory Card will be
a master or a
slave, or you can use two IDE hard disks on the same
cable.

A through connector to allow
you to
connect other peripherals to the ZX Spectrum at the
same time.

We are
currently investigating the possibility of an update
to the +DivIDE
firmware to allow both the DivIDE Plus hard disk
interface and the
PlusD floppy disk interface to be used at the same
time.

Works in
128K BASIC Mode on Spectrum 128K, Spectrum+2 and
Spectrum+3 home
computers, although this may need to be disabled for
full compatibility
with some 128K snapshots.

128K Mode can be selected in software by using OUT
23, %001xxxxx.

Both the onboard ROM and RAM
have been
increased from 8K to 512K each - this will enable
better firmware to be
written for the DivIDE Plus (as can be seen by the
release of
ResiDOS). The RAM is also battery backed as
this is required by the
ResiDOS firmware.
Battery backed memory allows ResiDOS to use ramdisks
for storage and
also allows FATware to remember the last file loaded
and position in
the disk browser since you last used the Spectrum.

The DivIDE Plus comes loaded with
five firmwares:
FATware, ResiDOS v2.00 (complete with FAT-16
support), +divIDE, DEMFIR
and MDOS which you can switch between with the
command OUT 23,x.
We are soon to release an update to the Flash EPROM
which will include
a firmware selector when you switch on the Spectrum,
to make it even
easier (this will be supplied as a free update to
those with earlier
interfaces).

We would like to thank SVP (who
provide low cost
media) for providing us with a range of Compact
Flash cards for
testing and as a result will be able to offer low cost
compatible
Compact Flash memory cards shortly.

DivIDE Plus Firmware
Selector

Following feedback from
customers, and as promised, we have now released a small
piece of
software which proves indispensable with all of the
various firmware
options. The Firmware Selector allows you to use a
simple menu to
select which firmware should be run on the DivIDE Plus,
whether to
start up in 48K or 128K Mode (if your Spectrum only
supports 48K this
option is not shown) and even allows you to enter 48K
BASIC without the
firmware being installed at all.

The selector even remembers
the
settings from the last time that you changed your
options, so no longer
do you need to reload the firmware whenever you turn the
Spectrum on.

We have worked hard to ensure that the DivIDE Plus
is
compatible with the original DivIDE, whilst adding
extra
facilities. The main problems were linked to
disagreement over
how to implement the extra RAM / ROM, although as we
are the first to
offer this, we would suggest our method to be the one
to use in
future. The other problem is that some 128K
snapshots will not
work with 128K Mode enabled on the DivIDE Plus -
however, this mode is
disabled by default, and can be switched on
specifically by software,
once firmware supports it.

DivIDE Plus will also support some new firmwares
which are
currently being developed, and is the only version of
the hard disk
interface to support ResiDOS by Garry Lancaster.
At the moment,
we support FATware, DEMFIR, MDOS3, +DivIDE and
TBIOS. We are
working on releases of CP/M and ZXVGS, with hopefully
ESXDOS and an
enhanced version of MDOS3 at a later stage.

This is now made easier with both ResiDOS and
FATware being
able to read Compact Flash Memory Cards and Hard disks
formatted on the
PC (in FAT-16). Simply copy programs onto the
compact flash
memory and use one of these two firmwares, and you can
load .TAP, .z80
and .SNA files directly on the ZX Spectrum. If
you like to use
the +DivIDE firmware, you may be interested in the
+DivIDE Manager from Scott-Falk Huehn (alas it
is only in German at the moment).

One
of the issues with the +divide firmware is that it
stores the data
directly in sectors without a file system. Therefore
it isn't possible
to exchange data between PC and Spectrum.

With the +divIDE
Manager you
can:- prepare a compact
flash card
for the use with PC and Spectrum- backup and restore
the data
of the +divide area on a PC- extract disk images
to a dsk,
mgt or img file- insert disk images
from a
dsk, mgt or img file- write a disk image
directly
to a Plus-D disk- read a disk image
directly
from a Plus-D disk

We have heard that some Compact Flash cards needed
external
power when plugged into the IDE connector of the
original DivIDE.
However, whether this is true, or the changes we have
made to the
design have overcome this, we are not sure - we just
have not found a
Compact Flash memory card which requires external
power on the DivIDE
Plus. If you use a hard disk with the interface,
this will need a
PC power supply as the one supplied with the humble
Speccy is not up to
powering hard disks.

No - DivIDE Plus users tend to prefer to use low
cost
Compact Flash memory cards for storage. You can
use any standard
PC hard disk (not SATA, Firewire or USB) - although it
must support LBA
mode (which most drives you can find nowadays will
be). The main
problem is that you will need a power supply for the
hard disk.
Due to the weight of power supplies and hard disks,
plus the expense of
obtaining custom made external hard disk cases, we
made the decision
not to produce these.

When looking at a hard disk you also need to
consider the
size of hard disk you need - the maximum size which
can be supported is
down to the firmware.

FATware and ResiDOS will be able to access Windows
partitions on the
disk although you are limited to 2GB per partition, as
they must be
formatted with FAT-16 (not FAT-32 or NTFS which is
currently the norm).
This means that only 8.3 filenames can be used -
FATware will address
up to 8 such partitions, compared to ResiDOS which
will support up to
26.

ResiDOS can also support a partition formatted with
IDEDOS (which is a
format devised for the Spectrum +3e ROM), with a
maximum partition size
of 16MB.

+divIDE uses virtual floppy disks on the hard disk,
each up to 780K -
you can access 2 of these virtual floppy disks at a
time. It is however
limited to 50GB overall.

We have tested various Compact Flash memory cards
and only
the 32MB PQI Card is not recognised by the DivIDE Plus
- we have made
some changes to the hardware to try and support a
wider range of memory
cards. Please note that the higher speed cards
may not work (we
have not tried them).

We (and some others) found a timing issue with the
original
DivIDE which meant that it may not always work with
some
Spectrums. We have however worked hard on the
design to overcome
these timing issues, and successfully used the DivIDE
Plus on the
original Sinclair ZX Spectrums, the Spectrum +2, +2A,
+2B and +3 and
even some Timex clones (such as the 2068).
Please also note that
we do of course offer a full refund (excluding postage
costs), if the
DivIDE Plus proves not to work with your particular
Spectrum or
clone. We have however, found that the DivIDE
Plus will not work
with the Spanish Sinclair ZX Spectrum+128.

The PlusD Floppy Disk Interfacefor
the
Sinclair ZX Spectrum Computer,
originally manufactured by MGT (Miles Gordon Technology)
is probably
one of the most widely used expansions for the ZX
Spectrum and its
drive format is widely implemented in Spectrum
emulators. We are
happy to be able to offer these floppy disk interfaces
(constructed in
2006 to a high standard) and have a limited supply of
compatible
external 3.5" DSDD Disk Drives to go with the
interfaces.

The PlusD floppy disk interface has
various added
advantages:

Compatible with ZX Microdrive
commands
(although this prevents it from working with the ZX
Interface 1).

Although the interfaces are supplied
unboxed, they are
manufactured to a high standard and provide an
excellent crash-free
connection to the ZX Spectrum computer. We
provide a printed
manual, disk complete with G+DOS operating system and
demonstration
programs, plus cable to connect the interface to a
centronics printer.

Please note: the
Plus-D Interface is
suitable for the original 16K and 48K (rubber key) ZX
Spectrum, the
Spectrum + (48K and 128K) and the Spectrum +2, as well
as the Timex
TC2048. Unfortunately, it cannot be used with
the later +2A, +2B
and +3 computers.

Frequently
Asked Questions

Can I use
a
standard PC floppy disk drive?

If you do not
want to
purchase one of our floppy disk drives for use
with this interface, the
main thing to be aware of is that modern PC floppy
disk drives are set
up to be DS1 (slave). This creates a problem
as the interface
will expect one disk drive to be the master (DS0)
which will be seen by
the Spectrum as Drive 1. Older floppy
disk drives have
jumpers which allows you to change the default
settings, otherwise you
will need to adapt a cable. We use jumpered
disk drives to
overcome this problem. These disk drives are
also suitable for
use with the BBC Micro and Sinclair QL floppy disk
interfaces.
You also need to beware that most PC floppy disk
drives are now HD
drives (1.4M) - these can be used successfully,
but you are recommended
to only use 720K DD Floppy disks with these
drives, otherwise you may
have problems reading them on another drive.
Please note that PlusD
will only format to a maximum of 720K no matter
what size floppy disk
you use.

What Printer can I connect to the PlusD ?

You can use any centronics (parallel) printer
directly
connected via the standard cable supplied.
This allows you to use
a much wider range of printers than the connectors
provided on the ZX
Interface 1, or built into the Spectrum +2,+2A, +2B
and +3. We
supply various compatible printers, but you are
encouraged to use an
Epson printer, as most software for the Spectrum
expects Epson
compatible printers. Please
note that modern USB or Winprinters are not
suitable.

The Sinclair ZX Interface 1
was released by
Sinclair
Research in 1983 to provide a faster means of storage,
RS232 interface
and network port for the ZX Spectrum. The
storage is provided by
ZX Microdrives which can be chained together (up to 8
units) and use
the same technology as was implemented for the
Sinclair QL's built in
microdrives (as well as on the ICL One Per Desk and
Merlin Tonto
computers).

The network
can
be used to connect up to 64 Sinclair ZX Spectrums and
Sinclair QLs
together with network leads up to 3m in length and with
speeds up to
100 kbits per second.

The
interface
expands many of the existing Spectrum commands to
provide support for
the extra facilities and an introductory microdrive
cartridge was
released which includes various demo programs and useful
utilities. The rear of the ZX Interface 1 includes
a full through
port to add additional add-ons.

Although
very
little software was produced on microdrive cartridge,
you can use a
Multiface to take a snapshot of a program in memory and
save it to
microdrive for later loading.

We can
supply
second hand, fully tested ZX Interface 1 units, together
with manual
and unused ZX Microdrive units, as well as blank ZX
Microdrive
cartridges.

Sinclair ZX Microdrive
to
Microdrive Connector
Extremely Hard to find - joining connector
needed to join 2 microdrive
units together - without this you can only use
on ZX Microdrive with
your ZX Interface 1(5
in
stock)

£10

Sinclair ZX Interface 1
Network
Lead
Cable to connect a Spectrum to other spectrums
or a Sinclair QL over
the ZXNet. ZX Spectrums will all need a ZX
Interface 1 in order
to use this - the QL does not require any
further hardware.

£2

Sinclair ZX Interface 1
Manual
Original Sinclair Manual for using the ZX
Microdrive and ZX Interface 1.(1
unit
currently in stock)

Frequently Asked Questions

How reliable is the ZX Interface 1 and
Microdrive?

With care, a ZX Microdrive will last
many
years. However, they rely on technology very
similar to a
cassette and we have often come across problems
where the small sponge
behind the tape has worn away, or where the rubber
wheel inside the ZX
Microdrive unit has worked its way up the
shaft. These can be
easy to fix, but the use of an early ZX Interface 1
can cause untold
problems which may not be obviously linked to the
Interface. We
always test our ZX Interface 1s and ZX Microdrives
on more than one ZX
Spectrum to check for compatibility, and the
Microdrive units are
always test for read / write and formatting
capability as well as
ability to work together with a second unit.